1. Area of Invention
The invention relates to shaving razors and, particularly, to razor blade systems which are disposable and adapted for use with sensitive surfaces and curved areas of the body.
2. Prior Art
Shaving systems inclusive of metallic razor blades have, in one for or another, been known for over 200 years. However, in more recent times, the razor portion of the shaving system has been separated from the handle and head assembly thereof to provide the well known disposable safety razor blade which, after use, is replaced by a new razor or cutting element. Such system became prevalent by 1950 and continued to be sold until at least 1980. This technology is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,804 (1971) to Brown, entitled Safety Razor. However, by the 1980s, the concept of a disposable cartridge razor appeared which provided a number of advantages of safety, cost and effectiveness over predecessor systems. Today cartridge razor blade systems are universally known. Therewith, the concept of an entirely disposable razor system has competed with cartridge systems since about 1990.
Notwithstanding improvements in the mounting of razor elements, both in cartridge and disposable systems, in areas such as angulation of the blade to improve closeness of the shave and so-called guard bars or strips to provide skin lubrication and reduce nicks and cuts caused by the longitudinal edge of the blade, certain shaving needs of the public have nonetheless remained less than fully addressed by state-of-the-art shaving systems. These areas, more particularly, have included a suitable razor for the shaping of beards, mustaches and sideburns and, with respect to the needs of many women, a razor capable of accessing sensitive, typically curved body recesses and areas.
The problems associated with the shaving of such narrow and curved body areas and recesses are two-fold, the first being that of achieving adequate contact with such a curved, typically concave, body surface. Clearly, no razor can function in a contemplated fashion if the linear cutting edge of the blade element cannot be brought into effective contact with the body surface. Therein, the longer or greater the dimension of the cutting edge of the razor blade, the more difficult it is to accomplish such effective contact between the blade and the body surface. The second problem associated with the shaving of such small dimension, sensitive, curved body areas as, typically, is the case in bikini line and underarm shaving requirements is that even where a blade of normal length, e.g., 40 millimeters (1.5 inches) can be brought into suitable contact with the body surface to be shaved, an elevated risk of nicking or cutting exists due to the fact that a small, often inadvertent, transverse or tilt of angulation of the handle of the blade can result in a sufficient rotation of the ends of the blade to cause a serious nick or cut upon a sensitive area of the body, this as is more fully explained below.
The prior art has, to the knowledge of the within inventor, addressed the above only through the use of blade guards and the suggested use of a curved blade conformed to the anatomical surface of interest. Such curved blade systems have, however, given rise to problems of engineering, production, cost, and complexity in use. Accordingly, no curved blade system suggested in the prior art has, to the knowledge of the inventor, proven successful in the marketplace.
The present invention therefore addresses the long felt need in the art for a shaving razor system capable of safely shaving sensitive surfaces and narrow curved body areas in the context of a system that can be cost-effectively manufactured and conveniently used by the mass market.
A shaving article for sensitive surfaces and curved body areas includes an elongate handle having one free end and an opposite end from which a shank or neck portion integrally depends, said shank and handle defining an aggregate effective lever arm. The article includes a shaving head assembly transversely dependent from said neck portion, the assembly comprising a blade housing including means for holding and positioning of a blade having a length in a range of about 17 to about 23 millimeters, said blade defining a rotated arm of said lever arm in which a ratio of length of said lever arm to said rotated arm defines a range of between about 3.5:1 to about 5.5.1. The preferred length of said blade, within said range, is about 20 millimeters (0.75 inches). The mass or weight of the handle typically exceeds the aggregate mass or weight of the shank and shaving head assembly thereby moving the center of gravity of the article closer to the center of the fingers of the user so that the article may be more easily controlled.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shaving article particularly adapted for the shaping of mustaches and beards and, additionally, achieving suitable contact, with reduced risk of nicking in difficult to reach and sensitive concave areas of body as is the case when shaving of underarms and bikini areas.
It is another object to provide an article of the above type which, alternatively, may either be permanently integrated into a disposable shaving system or, alternatively, may be furnished as a part of a cartridge shaving system such that only the cartridge portion is disposed of after the blade has become dull.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an article and system of the above type which may be compatibly integrated with state-of-the-art shaving features such as multiple blade cartridges, moisturizing strips, nick guards, and means for blade surface rotation in response to beard or hair density.
It is a yet further object to provide an article and system of the above type which may be cost-effectively produced using state of the art thermoplastic molding methods.